9:36 PM,
Apr. 16, 2013

Concerned parents and scientists traveled to Washington to urge Congress and the FDA to regulate and monitor antibiotic use in agriculture.

Written by

Cecilia Di Pentima

It used to be easy to treat healthy children with common bacterial infections; a regimen of antibiotic pills could usually wipe out the disease. Today, patients might need to go home on intravenous antibiotics because oral therapies will no longer work. Antibiotic resistance is to blame.

The principle behind the development of antimicrobial resistance is simple: exposing bacteria to antibiotics favors organisms that can resist them. The process is inevitable, but we can slow it down.

Hospitals across the country are implementing antimicrobial conservation initiatives. Doctors, ...